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The Hamerkop (Scopus umbretta) is a bird found in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and 1 more countries. Rivers, lakes and marshes across Africa and Madagascar. It eats reptiles and frogs, insects and other small invertebrates and fish. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

🏡 Where the Hamerkop lives

Rivers, lakes and marshes across Africa and Madagascar.

🍽️ What it eats

• 🦎 Reptiles & frogs40%
• 🐛 Insects & bugs30%
• 🐟 Fish30%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

Hear the Hamerkop

Recorded by Cat Sun (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC983782. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the Hamerkop

Where does the Hamerkop live?

The Hamerkop lives in South Africa, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and 1 more countries. Rivers, lakes and marshes across Africa and Madagascar.

What does the Hamerkop eat?

reptiles and frogs (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 30%), fish (about 30%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the Hamerkop endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from Africa

• Bronze mannikin
• African paradise flycatcher
• Lesser striped swallow
• Black-headed oriole
• Emerald-spotted wood dove
• Large rock martin

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.